Digimon: The Thirteenth Hour
by Kei10
Summary: When the end comes, it is trully the end? What if everything that has happened up to now had happened before, and we are merely reliving what occured in that time line? Would we be doomed to the same fate as before? Is fate merely a ciruclar stream, fl
1. Prologue

        It was a normal day in the Shinjuku District.  Quiet, calm, a little on the muggy side.  People cramming themselves into the subway cars to avoid being late.  Children heading off to school for the day.  
         Others knew this day was far from normal.  
         The year was 2015.  Meaningless for some, meaningful to others.  
         Televisions began to flicker.  News broadcasters took the place of people's favorite shows.  
         "... Magnetic interference... causing television and radio interference... Stay tuned for more."  
         It was a normal sunny day.  Until those black clouds started to form.  
         "... Gentlemen... we all knew this day would come." one man said, his back to the group of people.  
         All were in white lab coats, their faces covered by shadows.  The lights were off, many of them had drinks infront of them, others had bottles of rum.  The man turned to face him, his hands neatly folded behind his back, his voice strong and unshaken by the sudden change in weather.  
         "We have been preparing for this day for a long time."  
         One stood up.  
         "Preparation is one thing.  How do we know that we'll all really survive?"  
         He laughed.  
         "We won't, but we can hope, can't we?"  
         He held up his glass to the croud. Outside, the clouds concealed the sky behind them.  They were thick and fluffy, as if holding back massive rains.  The clouds parted in one section, breaking free, a light beginning to pour through.  The clouds began to swirl around this light.  
         "To the future, gentlemen.  I hope to see you all again."  
         The room was filled with murmurs, as each raised their drinks, and downed them, stood and turned away from him.  Each of them left the room, and trailed down a series of hallways, a long path set before them.  Various stairs, elevators, junctions... all lead down.  Deep down.   The one who stood before them before lead the way, and stopped infront of massive steel doors.  He lifted his hand and pressed it against a panel, a light gently traced down over his hand.  With a rumble and a loud hiss, the hydraulics on the inside pulled the massive double doors open, and they entered.  Breaths were visible in this cold room, and many capsules lined the walls.  
         "... Well, gentlemen... to each your own."  
         With that said, many of the men turned to each other and nodded to one-another, and shook one-another's hands, various 'farewells' and 'good lucks' shared.  With that, each walked towards a capsule.  In unison, the capsules gave a loud hiss, white mist spewed forth from each capsule.  The scientists stepped in, turned, and shut their eyes.  As the glass closed over them, the man who stood before them smirked.  
         "... Only I will live to see the future."  
         The light outside spread, quickly consuming several thousand feet in radius.  People on the roads stopped, heads stuck out of car windows, jaws dropped at this happening.  People in office buildings stepped away from their desks to see what was happening. Teachers dropped their books to dart over to the window and attempted to calm the children down.  The crouds crammed into the subway cars all gathered, pushed, and shoved one-another to get an eye-full of this event.  
         A shadow descended from the pillar of light.  The pillar of light quickly bursted outward, and quickly consumed everything.  Things seemed to fade away into the light; people, buildings, cars, children, plants, animals... nothing was spared...  The light spread in all directions, and quickly veiled the entire planet... and once the light had faded completely out...  
         ... There was nothing... the sun veiled behind a moon... the water red... no land remained visible.  
         The earth was one ocean of blood. 


	2. The Gates of Destiny Open

         He sighed, sitting up in bed.  Another restless night.  He shook his head and wiped the excess sweat from his brow.  Anxiety?  From what?  He sighed again.  
         The door opened.  
         "Kei!  Wake up!  It's already the afternoon!"  
         "E-eh?!"  He looked at the door.  
         Kasumi walked in, looking as pleasant as ever, that sweet smile on her face.  
         He yanked the sheets up over him.  He wasn't dressed yet.  He flushed.  
         "G-get out!  Let me get dressed first!"  
         "Oh!!"  She blushed as well, and turned, her hand went to her cheek. "... Sorry!"  She walked out of the room.  
         He sighed.  
         "... That girl.  Sheesh."  
         He slid out of bed and walked over to his drawer.  He slid it open.  
         "... Guess I'll wear my usual."  
  
         He stepped out of his room, and brushed off his shirt.  He was wearing his usual red shirt with black pants, a strip of red cloth tied around his waist to keep his pants up.  His lucky blue scarf was around his neck.  Kasumi was waiting there, standing next to the doorway.  She bowed.  
         "Uh... please forgive my intrusion."  
         "... H-Hey... that ain't nessecary."  
         She stood up and her smile returned.  
         "The elder wants to see you.  He doesn't look very happy about yesterday."  
         He flushed.  
         "Gah... it's not my fault that those chickens went crazy!"  
         She giggled.  
         "You did look funny with all those feathers... though you did break a few things, I hear."  
         "... Bah."  He sighed, and she nodded.  
         "Oh!  Today is the day of the Crystals!  Go look outside!"  
         "Really?"  
         She nodded.  
         "Wow.  I'll have to see."  
         "Well, I must be off.  Still have work to do."  
         "Okay, Kasumi.  See you around."  
         She quietly walked out of the room, her lengthy, rather extravagant dress seemed to suck the detail out of the room.   He grumbled under his breath and shook his head.  He turned and passed through the doorway into the main room.  
         A few people sat, crouded around a table, a single candle flickered.  They talked amongst one-another.  As he approached the elder's door, one of them grabbed his arm.  
         "Hey... Kei."  
         "What's up, James?"  
         "Not much, man."  
         The other two men waved to him.  He waved back, nodding to them.  
         "... Did you hear anything when you walked by that door?" said James.  
         He pointed to the blue door that was close to the door to the elder's room.  Kei shook his head.  
         "Nope... didn't exactly stop to listen," said Kei.  
         All three shivered.  
         "It's creepy.  It's like... someone's calling for help!" shouted one of the guys.  
         The one next to him shoved him.  
         "Shh!  The elder said that that room is forbidden!" said the other.  
         Kei shrugged and quietly walked to the door.  He turned the knob.  Locked tight.  He froze as he heard something faint.  
         "... help... help me..."  
         "... Okay, I'm officially creeped now," said Kei  
         Kei giggled and shook his head, turning to the group.  
         "Good joke, fellas."  
         His hands went to his hips as he smirked.  
         "Almost had me."  
         ... They didn't seem to be laughing.  Kei coughed.  
         "Well... the elder's expecting me, so..."  
         He turned, and walked into the elder's room.  It was only a few moments before the old geezer spoke to him.  
         "... Well?  What do you have to say for yourself?"  
         His usual dignified voice.  It urked Kei.  
         "... Well... it happens, sometimes, okay?  I'm sorry."  
         He shook his head and bit his lip.  It was hard for him to do things like this.  
         "... Kei.  You have done something wrong.  Do not apologize to me.  Apologize to those you have wronged."  
         A knot formed in his stomach.  Now he had to go apologize to them?  Well, whatever... at least he would be able to see Kasumi again.  He bowed to the elder, the elder nodded back to him.  He was dismissed.  He walked quietly out of the elder's room.  
         He re-entered the room, and the three men still chatted amongst themselves over what was behind that door.  Kei shook his head and rolled his eyes, continuing by them and walked out.  He nodded to the maid as he walked by her in the foyer of the wooden house, and exited through the front door.  
         The Day of the Crystals.  It was a once-in-a-random-few-years event.  Shimmering prismatic spheres of light filled the daytime sky, and floated around freely.  A smile spread across his face as he watched.  They were definately pretty.  
         His town was small.  Very small.  It was a secluded place in the middle of a forest.  No one had seen what was outside; no one could.  There was no gate constructed to leave this place.  No one sought to know what was outside, either.  Life was fine the way it was in the little town of Zuishou.  There was no need to question what was outside.  It was a self-sufficient hamlet.  Two farms, a general store, a tailor shop, and a few homes.  There was always enough to go around, and the weather always seemed to be the way it needed to be.  
         He darted up the path.  If he was going to do this, he wanted it over with as quickly as possible.  It wasn't long before he had arrived at his destination, the tailor's shop.  He walked in, and shut the door behind him, almost immediately, that overweight Betty almost knocked him back out the door.  
         "What do you think you're doing here?!  You have some nerve showing up after breaking that window and not even bothering to help clean it up!"  
         "... Uh... I'm..."  
         He looked away for a moment, then bit his lip.  Kasumi walked up behind Betty, and smiled at Kei.  He felt a renewed sense of confidence fill him.  
         "I'm sorry."  
         A smile spread across Betty's face.  
         "... There, now, was it really that hard?"  
         He shook his head.  
         "That's called responsibility," said Betty, her hands going to her hips.  "It's part of being an adult..."  
         After that point, Kei zoned out, looking back at Kasumi, and smiled to her.  Must have been two minutes that passed before Betty finished.  
         "... and all I really wanted was just sorry.  Thank you, Kei.  Well, I must get back to work."  
         She turned and headed back to her loom, and immediately resumed her work.  Kasumi walked to him, leaned forward, and gave him a light kiss to his cheek.  
         "That was very big of you," she said in a chldish tone.  
         He grinned, and scratched the back of his head.  He felt flustered as usual.  
         "Well... I suppose so... so... y'wanna watch the crystals tonight?" asked Kei  
         She nodded, her face brightening up.  
         "Of course!  I would love to!" she said.  
         "Great!  I'll see you when you get off work!" he said cheerfully.  
         She waved to him as he exited through the door.  He jogged back to the elder's house, a newfound lightness to his step.  He had known Kasumi for as long as he could remember, and he had never the courage to ask her what he had just asked her.  It felt good.  
         He made it as close as to the meeting room before he was stopped by James and his two friends again.  
         "Kei!  C'mon, you gotta help us!" said James.  
         "Yeah, we're dying to know what's in there!" said one.  
         "The three of us together couldn't even budge that door!  C'mon, give it a shot!  Maybe you can help us," said the other.  
         "Uh... well... I'll give it a shot.  Was locked earlier."  
         All four walked to the door.  Kei scratched his head, and turned to the other three.  
         "... Which one of you has the hardest head?"  
         "... Not funny, Kei," said James.  
         "Hmm..."  
         Kei suddenly felt himself lifted and turned on his side.  
         "W-what?!" said Kei  
         "But it's a good idea!" finished James.  
         Two more sets of arms grabbed him, holding his arms and legs in place.  
         "Oh, COME ON!" he screamed, squirming hard.  
         "One..."  
         "Come on!  Don't do it!"  
         "Two..."  
         "... you guys are so dead..."  
         "THREE!"  
         With that, the three guys took off towards the door, and slammed Kei's head into the door, his thick black hair not nearly enough to cushion the blow.  The door groaned, and bursted open.  The three dropped Kei and let out a cheer.  The door was opened!  Kei laid there for a few moments, then sat up, rubbing his head.  He looked around for a moment.  The three others had pale faces.  
         "... What's w-..."  
         He turned around.  There was a light that came from the now-open doorway.  
         "... please... someone... help me... free me..."  
         The light faded.  The three men stood there, Kei still on the floor.  
         "... Uh... well... the door's open... you go check it out, Kei... I'm suddenly not feeling very good."  
         "Yeah, man... me, too.  See you later."  
         "I'm with you guys... uh, good luck, Kei."  
         The three turned, and walked out.  Kei sighed and shook his head.  He stood up and leaned in the doorway.  
         "... Hello?  Anyone there?"  
         No response.  He leaned in.  There was a staircase leading down.  
         _Well... why not?_  He followed the staircase down.  The light quietly dimmed.  Further and further down.  How far down did this staircase go?  He sighed as he had started counting the steps after trailing down them for what seemed like ten minutes.  
         "... sixty-five... sixty-six... sixty se-" he was cut off.  That was the last step.  
         He lept down into a small cave.  
         "... Creepy place.  Why was there a need to seal this place up?"  
         His shoes quietly grinded the gravel as he walked down the cave.  He squinted and leaned forward.  There seemed to be a light in the back of the cave.  
         "... help me... get me out of here..."  
         He stopped dead in his tracks, feet kicked up some of the gravel.  
         "... Who are you?"  
         ... No response.  Maybe... that light?  He nodded and took off in a jog towards the light.  It was only a few moments before he skidded to a halt.  Yes, there was a light.  A small object was hovering in the air infront of him, a thin halo of light around it.  
         "... touch it... set me free..."  
         "... Well..."  
         He looked to his left.  Then to his right.  He brushed his hands off on his pants, wiped the back of his hand along his lips, and reached forward...  
         ... and was quickly launched back.  
         "... no, no, no!... with a calm mind... touch me... calm your soul..."  
         "... Yeah... NOW you tell me..."  
         He stood up, and brushed the dirt off of his hands.  He brushed his rear, gravel falling off of his pants.  He shut his eyes, and walked towards the object again.  He reached out, his hands around where he knew it was.  He could see it in his head.  He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.  He opened his eyes and closed his hands around the source of the light.  A bright light quickly blinded him.  
         Once again, on the floor.  He sat up... and immediately jumped ten feet back.  
         "AAAAAAHHHH!  Wh-..?!"  
         It must have been three feet tall.  It's entire body was black, and had almost a sheen to it; it was shiny, even in the darkness.  Two golden hues peered at him through the opening in it's helmet.  It _looked_ human, but was most certainly not.  The long talons that protruded from it's hands said that.  It's head had a humanoid oval shape, but no human could be looking from underneath that helmet.  It leaned forward.  
         "... Did you free me?"  
         "... Yeah... I did..."  
         It quickly glomped him, and he fell over backwards against the dirt.  
         "Thank you!  Man, that thing was SO CRAMPED!  You have no idea how good it feels!"  
         It sat up on his stomach and stretched out it's arms and back.  
         "... Inside what?"  
         It pointed to his right hand.  A small device sat in his hand, clenched in his fingers.  He didn't even know it was there.  
         "That," it said.  
         "... What are you?!"  
         "Me?  I'm a Digimon!"  
         "Digi... mon?"  
         "... Probably the last one, too.  Digital monster... it's hard to explain... well... let me show you something."  
         Before Kei could get a word out, the creature leaned over and pushed a button on the device.  It hummed for a second.  
         "Uh..." Kei looked at the device, holding it infront of his face.  "What did you ju-"  
         He never finished that sentence as he was sucked into the small device, the creature pulled in with him.  
  


***************  
  
  
  


         "This is where I've been stuck for... well, I dunno how long!"  
         "... You mean... ALL OF THIS... is in this teeny, TINY thing?"  
         He looked down at the device in his hand.  
         "That's just a mock-model.  You can use that to leave."  
         "That's good."  
         He held it to him, left index finger lowering to push a button, just before those two black hands grabbed his hand.  
         "Not yet!  At least lemme give you a tour!"  
         He gave a fustrated sigh.  
         "... Whatever."  
         He looked around.  Wow, it was big.  Was most certainly larger than his room.  Most of it was empty.  A bookshelf complete with books of various types adorned a wall.  Chairs, couches, and a table decorated the room.  Even the floor had soft, dark blue carpetting, and the walls were dark blue to match the carpet.  Two chairs sat near the left wall, a clock above it, and a chessboard there.  He quirked a brow.  The Digimon looked up at him and followed his glance.  
         "Up for a game?"  
         The creature giggled.  
         "I'm rather bored of playing against myself."  
         "... Nah... not right now."  
         "Alrighty, well, this is my home."  
         He pointed to a door.  
         "Bedroom's in there."  
         "... Okay.  Done?"  
         The creature's eyes said it all.  
         "... What's wrong with you?"  
         "Well, isn't it obvious?  I break down a door that leads to a strange device that has it's own monster and room in it.  No, this is just so easy to understand," Kei said, a fustrated tone in his voice.  
         He took his head in his hands and shook his head.  The creature looked around usnteadily.  
         "What's up?" Kei looked down at it.  
         "Someone's coming.  Let's go!"  
         Once again, before he could say anything, the creature leaned up and pushed a button on the device.  The area around them shifted and twisted, fading into a light.  The light quietly faded, replaced with the cave.  
         "... You need to warn me before you do that from now on, okay?"  
         The creature nodded.  
         "Agreed.  Oh, and by the way, my name is Tuskikagemon."  
         "Tuskika... wha?"  
         "... It means shadow of the moon."  
         "... Oh... well, I'm Kei.  Nice to meet you, Tuskika-... ah, uh..."  
         "Call me Shadow if you want," the creature grumbled, shaking it's head.  
         Kei shivered as he heard a voice.  
         "Kei!"  
         Kasumi exited the staircase and into the cave.  
         "Kei, are you okay?!  James was so pale when he told me about what happe-..."  
         She leaned over and glanced at Shadow.  He sheepishly raised his hand and waved at her.  Kei followed Kasumi's stare... and quickly jumped, waving his hands.  
         "Don't worry!  He's okay!  He's, uh... nice..."  
         Kei turned and looked down at Shadow.  
         "Uh... you don't eat... meat... right?"  
         Shadow shook his head.  
         "Nope."  
         Kei let out a sigh of relief... as did Kasumi.  
         "Kei..." Kasumi's voice seemed to sink.  "... I've a... terrible feeling now..."  
         He blinked and stared at her.  He walked to her and tilted his head to the side, stopped, and stood no more than a foot from her.  
         "Yeah, James was complaining of not feeling too well, either..."  
         "... Kei... I'm... I'm scared... something.. is happening..."  
         Kei blinked and quietly glanced around, glancing down at Shadow.  Shadow shrugged and looked around.  
         "Nothing's wr-..."  
         He didn't finish his sentence as he looked at Kasumi.  It took him a few moments for it to sink in.  He brushed his hand along her cheek.  
         "She's... stone..."  
         He turned to Shadow, and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.  
         "W-what happened?!  What did you do to her?!"  
         Inbetween the shaking, Shadow managed to plea.  
         "I-I-I di-idn't do anything!  Really!  It's not my fault!"  
         Shadow quickly squirmed free of Kei and lightly shoved him aside, walking to her.  
         "Lemme see here..."  
         He leaned forward, examining her, and lightly brushed a straightened talon along his chin.  
         "... Her soul is gone."  
         "WHAT?!"  
         "... The whole villiage is probably like this right now."  
         "... How in blazes do you... forget it, let's go, NOW!"  
         With that, they both darted to the staircase, bolting up it.  What was a 2 minute journey down was done in 30 seconds on the way up.  Not fast enough for him.  He ran into the meeting room, and was greeted by a few more statues, amongst which was James, a horrified look on his face.  
         "... The elder!"  
         Kei quickly bolted into the room, nearly knocking the door down.  The elder was normal, and looked up at Kei as he entered.  
         "... You broke the seal, Kei."  
         "W-what...?!"  
         Shadow walked in behind him.  
         "H-hey, I was the one sealed away.  Why would someone make people turn to stone for freeing lil' old me?"  
         "... And I see the creature that was sealed away is free as well."  
         Shadow jumped.  
         "HEY!  I'm not a creature."  He stuck out his chest.  "I'm a _Digimon!_"  
         "... Kei..."  
         "... Is there a way to save them, elder?  Is there a way to bring back their souls?"  
         "... Yes... there is... but you must venture outside the villiage to do so..."  
         ... Venture outside the villiage.  Somewhere no one else has gone before.  
         "Outside of this villiage... there are seven towers.  Each tower contains their souls... if you want the villiage to return to normal, you must seek out the Guardian of these towers.  He can help you..."  
         Kei remained silent, absorbing all of this.  This was all alien to him, and he wasn't very good with new concepts.  An "outside world" was a completely new thought to him.  He stood for a few moments, lost in his own head.  
         "... The gates have opened for you, Kei..."  The elder stood, and made his way to him, wobbly ancient body leaning hard on that cane.  His arm reached underneath his cloak and drew out a pair of goggles.  
         "... The winds outside the villiage can blind.  Wear these to protect your vision."  
         Shadow nudged him.  Kei shook for a moment as he snapped back to reality, and bowed.  He took the goggles and brought the strap around his head, letting the eye pieces rest on his head.  
         "... Kei... I sense a long journey has been laid before you... fate will test you at every turn... but if you believe you can do it... then you can restore the villiage.  I believe in you, and everyone is counting on you now.  Good luck."  
         "Yeah, yeah, thanks, old timer.  What, nothing from me?"  
         The elder glanced down at the creature.  
         "... You don't need anything from me."  
         They stared at one-another for a few moments, and Kei lightly bopped Shadow in the back of his head.  
         "Let's go."  
         Kei turned, Shadow staring for a few more moments before he turned and walked out behind Kei.  They exited the elder's house, and Kei stopped, staring at this... change.  
         It wasn't there before.  There was now a gate.  A large, wooden gate that lead out of the town.  It was a complete enigma.  Where did it come from?  It was almost as if... it was there the whole time... or it wasn't there and someone just made it or... who knows?  
         His trail of thoughts were interrupted by Shadow.  
         "... Kei?"  Shadow looked up at him.  
         "... Let's go, Shadow."  
         He slid the goggles down over his eyes, and pulled the scarf over his face.  He walked towards the gate and stood underneath it.  He took in a deep breath, shut his eyes, and placed one foot out, letting it drop to the ground, his eyes opened as it met the dirt.  He then took another step.  And another.  This was all really happening.  He was... leaving the villiage.  Shadow stood quietly, watching him, giggling.  
         "... Keep going that slow, and you'll be old and dead before you save them all."  
         He threw Shadow a glare, but sighed, and shook his head.  
         "... Sorry.  This is just all so... weird.  Well, let's go."  
         Shadow nodded and giggled, quickly darting up next to Kei.  They both walked out of the town, disappearing into a thin mist.  
         They had left the town.


	3. Trials and Frustrations

         The outside world was puzzling.   The wind blew in random directions at random intervals.   One moment, Kei would be pressing forward... the next, he would be head over heels.   The wind swept from behind him.   It took a little while to get used to this.  
         It didn't take him long to locate the towers.   The horizon curved upward and around, almost like being inside of a ball.   He looked around... and shook his head.   Shadow stopped and looked up at him.  
         "Having second thoughts?"  
         "... Nah.  I gotta save 'em."  He looked down at Shadow.  "I'm the one responsible for this."  
         "Yeah.  You are."  
         Kei facefaulted.  
         "Well.  That was... rude."  
         Shadow giggled.  Kei sighed, and shook his head, rolling his eyes.  
         The ground was a pale white sand, an ocean of lava all about them.  Forests of pure crystal had to be navigated.  Kei sighed, and sat on the ground.  He wiped the goggles with his sleeve, then shook his hand, shards of crystal scattered off of his hand.  Crimson liquid began to form in particular spots.  
         "... Damn crystals."  
         "Shoulda brought gloves."  
         Kei shot him a glare.  
         "Hey, I got some."  
         Shadow quickly darted at Kei and took the device out of his pocket.  He poked another button, and the screen lit up.  A pair of black gloves dropped down in Kei's lap.  He stared for a moment, and blinked.  He picked up the gloves, wiped off his hands again, then slid his hands into the gloves.  
         "... Got anything in there that can get us to the tower faster?"  
         Shadow stared at him for a minute.  
         "... Whadd'ya think this is, Aladdin's Lamp?"  
         "... Uh... who?"  Kei quirked his eyebrow.  
         Shadow let out a sigh and shook his head.  
         "Nevermind."  
         "Lemme rest my feet, and we'll get going," said Kei.  
         Shadow strode next to him, and dropped down onto the floor, legs folding in a child-like indian style.  Kei leaned back against the tree, face still concealed under the thick scarf and goggles.  His spikey dark brown hair had a thin, misty layer of crystal shards.  He brushed his now-gloved hand through his hair, a shower of white powder falling from his head.  He stared down at Shadow, who then returned his stare.  
         "... So... uh..."  
         Kei wasn't too great of a conversationalist.  
         "Lemme guess... what am I?"  
         Kei nodded, grinning a bit under his scarf.  
         "A Digimon."  
         "Digimon... right.  That tells me just so gee-golly-darn much."  
         "A Digital Monster."  
         "... Which is?"  
         Shadow coughed.  
         "A... monster... that is made of... electronic data?"  
         Kei stared blankly.  A few moments passed.  
         "... Nevermind.  It's beyond your mind's current capacity to comprehend"  
         Kei shook his head, more white powder falling from his face.  
         "Right.  Anyway... what's this supposed to be?"  
         Kei reached into his pocket and took out the device.  He ran his free hand over it, brushing the white powder off of it.  
         "That is a D-Power.  It's a device that, well... has many, many uses.  Some of which make me stronger.  You'll see."  
         "... I'm sure I will."  He quirked a brow.  
         _As soon as this is over with, he's going back in there.  Perminently_. he thought.  
         "Since you're the one who unsealed it, it's yours now.  If you lose it, it'll find it's way back to you somehow.  Pretty much unbreakable, too."  
         "How would you know it's unbreakable?"  
         "... It's older than I am, and doesn't even have a scratch on it.  You do the math."  
         "True... what was your name, again?"  
         "I'm Tsukikagemon.  A virus-demon type.  I've got a lot of uses, you'll see."  
         "... Okay.  Sure.  Lemme guess two?  No good and good for nothing?"  
         Shadow stared at him.  
         "... This coming from someone who can't even say my name without it becoming a tongue twister."  
         Kei shot him a glare.  
         "Tsukikaaaa..."  
         Shadow leaned forward.  He pulled down Kei's scarf and grabbed his lips between his talons.  Shadow yanked his lips, forming the words with his tugs.  
         "Tsu.  Ki.  Kage.  Mon.  Not that hard."  
         He repeated back.  "Tsu.  Ki.  Kage.  Mon.  Tsukikagemon."  
         Shadow yanked the scarf up, the scarf covering half of his goggles.  Kei fixed it.  
         "Good job.  You ready to go yet?"  
         "... Yeah."  
         Kei placed a hand on his knee and stood up.  He brought an arm behind his head and stretched out.  Shadow quickly stood up and walked next to him.  Kei nodded down to him, Shadow returning the nod, and they both turned, and resumed the journey.  
           


***********************  
  
  
  
  
  


         What seemed like hours later, and much walking, they reached the tower.  It stretched upward, a deep, empty pit around it, a drawbridge down, and a massive stone door stood shut.  Tight.  He sighed, and scratched the back of his head, staring at the door.  
         "... Looks like no one's home?"  
         "Maybe you should try and open it first."  
         Kei rolled his eyes and walked quietly towards the tower.  He stopped for a moment, and glanced around him.  
         "... Is it just me, or..."  
         He took off his goggles, and pulled down his scarf.  There was no wind.  He turned around and glanced behind them.  The wind seemed to be blowing around the tower.  Aproximately one foot from the tower was where the wind parted around it.  No matter what direction, the wind could not cross that line.  He stared at it for a moment, lips curling to one side.  That gave him a rather creepy feeling.  
         "... Who approaches the tower?" a voice called from behind.  
         "E-eh?!"  
         Kei spun around.  A face molded itself from the stone door.  Kei felt his jaw drop.  Shadow quietly walked over to him, and closed his mouth.  Kei shot him a glare, and Shadow merely giggled.  
         "Say something!" whispered Shadow.  
         "Okay, okay!"  he whispered back.  
         "Uh... we do!"  
         "... What purpose do you seek these towers?"  
         Kei blinked.  That was a simple answer.  
         "I seek to revive my friends in my villiage!  Their souls are trapped in your tower!  Open up, now!"  
         The stone face remained silent for a moment.  
         "... Very well.  However, there are souls that lurk within the towers... corrupted souls that have become creatures of darkness.  Seek the top of the tower, and gain the power to revive the planet.  Then your friends souls shall be returned."  
         "... Okay.  Right," he muttered.  
         "... Kei... do you dare to test your fate?" said the stone face.  
         Kei coughed.  The door shook for a moment, then violently as it slowly swung inward.  It stopped with a hard slam as it reached just tall enough for Kei to enter.  
         He stood quietly and stared at the open gate.  Shadow stamped on his foot.  He winced and cringed.  
         "Do you always have to stare?  C'mon!"  Shadow quickly jogged in, giggling.  
         "... I'm so gonna get you back for this one of these days."  
  
  
  
  
  


***************************  
  
  
  
  
  


         The place faintly smelt of mold.  The entryway was well lit with torches, ancient statues of inhuman-looking creatures stood like sentinels.  A red carpet lead the way back into a doorway.  They quietly walked down the carpet, Kei's head never once being still, always glancing around.  He was rather nervous.  Monster were lurking about... and he didn't have anything to fight with.... except maybe Shadow... which it was unknown to him how Shadow could fight.  Well, he did have those claws... but when push came to shove, would they be enough?  
         They walked quietly into the next room.  Kei canted his head.  He could hear more of them lurking around, but there was one infront of him, wandering around, minding it's own buisness.  For now.  It must have been two feet tall.  It literally looked like a mole-person with one eye.  
         "... Kei?  Ready for fighting, lesson one?"  Shadow looked up at him.  
         Kei shook a bit and looked down at Shadow, shushing him.  
         "Y'want that thing to notice us?!"  
         "Here!"  
         Shadow jumped up and yanked the D-Power out of his pocket.  He giggled a bit and held it up to him.  
         "Push this button on the left side."  
         He stared for a second, and nodded.  He pushed.  The screen lit up.  An image of a sword with a rather sturdy-looking armor mounted ontop of a small platform appeared on the screen.  It almost looked like a medal or a trophy.  
         "... Okay... then what?"  
         "Push the big button in the middle and say, 'DigiMental Up!'"  
         Kei glanced from the screen to Shadow.  
         _Sounds... stupid enough to work.  Why not?_  
         Shadow tapped his foot and folded his arms.  
         "Any day now."  
         He pushed the button and held it out to Shadow.  
         "DigiMental Up!"  
         A light quickly shot from the D-Power.  It thrust itself into Shadow.  Light began to pour from the open slots in his body, and slowly, his entire body was drenched in a light.  The light moved towards Kei.  He didn't have enough time to react before it pressed into him.  He flailed, and brushed his arms around his body, trying to get whatever it was off of him.  
         He shut his eyes and covered his face.  The light faded.  A loud clank startled him.  A sword was lying next to him.  His knees bent suddenly as he realized... he had on a breastplate.  He blinked and glanced down.  He flicked the armor with his finger, and immediately recoiled, shaking his finger.  Extremely sturdy, and skin-tight.  
         "... Mind not doing that?"  
         The words came from the sword... the two gold gems on the crossguard seemed to stare at him.  
         "... Shadow?"  
         "Expecting someone else?  You gonna leave me here or what?"  
         He coughed, leaned over, and gripped the hilt.  He leaned back, and stumbled lightly.  A laugh came from the blade.  
         "Too heavy?"  
         "No... just... not used to it yet."  
         He reached down with his other hand and lifted.  Yeah, it was pretty heavy for him, but not unmanagable.  He took a few swings with both hands, turning with each swing, then thrusted it forward, and took a step back, taking a rather showy stance.  
         "... Whenever you're done showing off, you can move out of the way of the creature next to you."  
         "... What are y-"  
         WHAM!  He skidded across the stone floor.  One of the mole creatures flipped off of him and recoiled.  It had apparently rolled itself into a ball and slammed into him.  How did he know?  It rolled into a ball again and came at him.  He slid his legs out, and readied himself.  
         _... Wait... duh.  What am I thinking?_  Kei giggled to himself.  _Stupid monster._  He held out the blade, and the mole creature skewered itself on it.  Kei stared for a moment at the creature as it squirmed a bit on the blade, before it stopped moving.  No blood, no... nothing.  It's body merely cracked like glass and shattered, particles of light flowing in all directions around them, then quickly drawing into the blade.  
         "... I got 'em!"  
         "Yep.  Quick thinking, dead-eye.  More where that came from.  Another behind you, too."  
         He nodded and turned, swinging this time.  The creature shattered much like the other as the blade passed through it, the same event happening.  
         "... This isn't too hard."  
         "Alright, let's get outta here before more decide to show up.'  
         "Agreed.  That first one hurt."  
         "Lots more pain in store, I'll garuntee."  
         With that, he jogged around the room... and stopped about every ten steps to catch his breath.  
         "Jeeze.  Am I really that heavy?"  
         "YES." Kei shouted.  
         It didn't take Kei long to find a staircase to the upper balcony that surrounded the room.  An open door sat a few feet to his right, a sentinel statue on either side.  
         "... There's our ticket."  
         He quickly darted to the staircase, a creature daring to drop down infront of him.  He merely thrust the blade forward, blazed right through it, and bolted up the staircase.  
         Second floor.  A new creature lurked about.  It looked like... a small ball of red light, small flames hovering around it.  Along with the mole things.  Inside the red light, an eye opened and glanced at Kei.  The flames closed in on it's body and the creature vanished.  
         "... Maybe it got sca-"  
         The red light flickered infront of him, and the flames ignited, the eye merely feet from him.  It leaned forward and stared down at him.  The flames around it spun faster, and it launched one at him.  Kei quickly ducked, the flames licked his hair.  
         "H-hey!  WATCH IT!"  
         He slashed the sword at it.  The blade impacted, and bounced off.  It bounced back.  He blinked for a moment and darted forward.  He thrust the sword through it's eye, and the eye shattered, the flames going out.  It's light shattered... but regathered, and became a blue glowing ball of light.  A white mist formed over it, facial features quietly drawing themselves out.  
         "What the...?"  
         "It's a soul, Kei.  Apparently, this creature hasn't been here that long.  That's why I can't absorb it."  
         Kei stared at it for a minute.  The lips curled up into a smile.  
         "Ahh... feels great to be free of that acursed form..." said the whispery, hollow voice that came from the light.  
         "... Right, uh..."  
         It leaned forward.  
         "Y'wanna know how to get to the next floor?"  
         Kei looked around, facefaulting.  No, there was no visible staircase... which confused him.  Why would someone build a tower... and forget to build a staircase?  
         "Uh... sure."  
         The spirit flickered around him.  
         "I only got a few seconds before I head for the other side, but..."  
         It went face-to-face with him.  
         "Try the window."  
         He blinked, and the spirit faded, disappearing in a light puff of it's own mist.  
         "... Oh, and thanks!"  
         "... You're... welcome?"  
         He canted his head and shrugged.  
         A few hacks and slashes later, Kei sat down on the floor, panting.  
         "Jeeze.  You're pathetic.  You kill six monsters and are tired."  
         "Cut me some slack.  I'm new to this adventuring buisness."  
         A giggle came from the blade, and he thrusted the blade into the stone, using it to pull himself to his feet.  He really was pretty tired.  He sighed, and lifted his head, and immediately caught something in his eye.  
         "... Well, he could have just TOLD ME that..."  
         Where did he stare?  Well, just across the room from him on the upper balcony of the room were two windows.  One was barred up like a prison cell.  The other was not.  The bars had been broken open and bent outward, and the window sat there, like a gateway.  
         "... Sheesh.  Too easy."  
         He walked to the window, heffing up the blade and sitting the flat part of it against his shoulder.  Much better.  
         _I'm gonna need a loooooooooong nap after this is over..._  
  
         Outside, there was a thin balcony.  He had only thought he was on the second floor, but from the distance to the ground outside, it looked more like the tenth.  He glanced around at the wall of the tower.  A rope hung down, a doorway up at the top, a light shone through it.  Looked almost like someone was waiting for him up there.  
         He stood before the rope and stared up.  Okay, what to do?  He gripped the rope in one hand and went to reach with the other... okay, sword is there.  He switched hands and gripped it with his left hand, taking the rope in his right.  
         "... Try putting the sword in the sheath on your back."  
         "... Oh!... right... Like I knew this?"  
         He held the blade up high, arms fully extended.  He turned the blade over, and fumbled around, the tip of the blade lightly bouncing around, missing the sheath.  
         "... Little to the left... now right... no no, more to the left!  NO!  Now to th-... FORGET IT!"  
         With that, the sheathe dropped off his back.  He turned and leaned over, picked it up and sheathing the blade.  He held it behind his back, and it attached itself to his back again.  
         With that said and done, he set out climbing the rope.  Ten minutes later, after many slips, falls on his rear, and laughs from Shadow, he finally reached the top, leaned in the doorway, and panted hard.  
         "Oh, God..." Shadow squalked out between laughs, "That one time you were like, 'WAAAH!' when your hand missed... CLASSIC!"  
         Kei glared down at the blade... and slammed it against the wall a few times.  
         "OW!  OW!  HEY!  S- OW! STOP THAT!"  
         Kei grinned.  
  
         Inside, the pathway was simple.  The path lead around a pit, crumbling balcony surrounding it.  A doorway sat in the middle of the room.  The heavy-looking wooden doors sat quietly.  It was something strange to behold.  A set of doors... sitting in the middle of the room... and a figure standing infront of it.  Kei knew that whatever that was, it knew he was there, but made no sign to acknowledge him.  It's long, black cape covered it's body.  It looked humanoid, but it was impossible to tell.  Every inch of it was covered.  It's face had a mask of a red-faced demon, and a hood was over it's head.  He followed the pathway around, and approached it.  
         "... So, you are the one who seeks to unseal the seven towers?"  
         Kei nodded.  
         "I want my villiage back to normal."  
         "... Not just anyone can pass through these doors.  It was enough that you got in here.  You should head back before you get yourself killed."  
         He bit down on his lip, and unsheathed the sword, arms straining to hold it.  
         "... Careful.  You might hurt yourself with that."  
         "Shut up and move out of my way!"  
         "... Either you're brave, or stupid.  Very well, I shall test you."  
         The ground shook lightly.  The figure disappeared.  
         "I am the guardian of these towers.  Prove yourself to me, and I shall open the doors for you."  
         The thin pathway that lead to the center of the room gave away.  He was now isolated on the island.  Four molemen suddenly appeared around him.... only they seemed different.  Their backs were red, and looked much more like shells.. and they were much taller.  All four leaned forward and roared at him.  One came running at him, it's left arm arm went up.  He observed, face frozen with fear.  He wasn't sure what to do... and it hit him like a sack of bricks.  He quickly sidestepped to his left.  As he did, the creature's claw swooped by him, completely missing him.  His eyes went wide, as it's face froze, and he realized that he had... just cut it in half.  He didn't know when, but he had swung on it, and split it in half.  It shattered into those particles of glass, the blade sucking it in as usual.  
         The other three glared at this, and quickly darted at him.  He turned to the one on the left, and it skidded to a halt.  It smirked, and Kei was suddenly launched towards it.  
         _The one BEHIND YOU, IDIOT!_  He winced as pain filled his body from that hit.  The one infront of him quickly lifted it's claw, but he was too fast for it.  He quickly got up and thrusted his blade through it's neck.  The creature made a choking noise before shattering, and he turned, swinging the blade, grazing the one behind's stomach.  It was trying to sneak up on him again, but he was a fast learner.  
         He stood up, body trembling.  That hit REALLY hurt.  He kept both of them infront of him.  He took in a breath, and quickly let out a scream, bolting towards the one.  It seemed to freeze in fear as his blade went through it's chest and he ripped it out the side, using the excess force to the side to blaze across the other next to it.  
         All four were defeated.  The guardian's voice rung up.  
         "You are brave indeed.  And you have much strength.  You have done well up to this point.  The monsters you have felled are people's souls transformed."  
         "... Look, I don't care about all this.  I just want my villiage back to normal."  
         "... Earth is trying to revive itself... Land is on the verge of resurrection... step through those doors... and revive... the land..."  
         There was a creaking, and the doors slowly swung open.  He stood for a moment... and sighed, knowing Shadow would do something to him if he didn't move.  So he walked through the doors.  
         And it happened.  He entered a room, unlike anything he had seen.  A seven-pointed star was drawn on the floor, a door at each point.  A blue sphere of light spun quietly in the center of the small room.  The night sky shined around them outside of this room.  There were no walls, just doors, and a floor.  He quietly walked towards the blue orb, and placed his hand upon it.  His head arched back, and he gasped, feeling himself grow faint.  
         He saw something.  An ocean of red.  Becoming bigger and bigger, until it became a sphere, spinning in the darkness.  He watched, silent, unknowning of what was happening.  
         A bubbling came from the sea of blood.  A peak rose forth.  In a few moments, more peaks began to rise, land rising up to fill the gap between them.  A massive land formation came forth, giving the planet a new feature.  
         The image faded.  White flakes began to drop down.  The land came into view... a snow-covered land, shining even in the night.  He had never seen this white powder... this cold feeling.  He had heard about it before... it was called... snow.  He could hear the Guardian's voice in his head.  
         "... On this day... Asia has been reborn."  
         The image faded.  
  
  
  
  
  


*****************************  
  
  
  
  
  


         "Kei... KEI!  Wake UP!"  
         His cheeks began to sting.  He opened his eyes, and peered through his goggles, scarf up around his mouth.  His vision was quickly shot to the side as he felt a deeper sting to his cheek.  He squirmed and pushed away.  
         "Kei, are you in there?"  
         "Yeah, yeah, ENOUGH SHADOW!"  
         He pushed Shadow away, who jumped back a bit, and stumbled for a second.  Kei glanced around.  They were outside, back in the crystal forest, away from the tower.  
         "... What... just happened?"  
         Shadow walked to him and sat down infront of him.  
         "You unsealed that tower.  Now some of your villiage has revived."  
         "... But after that... what...?"  
         "You... revived part of Earth?  I dunno."  
         Shadow shrugged.  
         "Then we appeared here," finished Shadow.  
         "... Okay... can I rest a bit?  Is that okay?... That weapon and armor were pretty heavy."  
         Shadow's eyes narrowed.  
         "I'm not THAT fat."  
         Kei smirked, and leaned back against the tree, and shut his eyes, letting out a sigh.  He felt a weight in his lap suddenly.  His eyes opened.  Shadow was sitting there.  
         "... Mind if I?"  
         "... I don't care."  
         Shadow nodded, not even glancing back at him, and his talons went into his lap.  Kei leaned his head back and shut his eyes.  
  
  
  
  
  


***********************  
  
  
  
  
  


         A few hours and a long walk later, they had arrived at the second tower.  They approached, and Kei waited.  Once again, the ground shook, and the door swung open.  They both quietly entered the tower, the door slamming shut behind him.  
         This tower was darker than the previous.  Many of the torches appeared to have burned out.  A staircase sat in the middle of the room, leading up.  
         "... No monsters?"  
         "And... you want to have to carry my heavy butt around on you?"  
         Kei glanced back at Shadow, and smirked.  
         "Point taken."  
         They walked to the staircase, and Kei placed his hand lightly on the railing.  He started up the staircase, glancing up.  
         "How far up you think this goes?"  
         Shadow shrugged.  
         What seemed like an hour later, the staircase yielded no sign of ending.  Kei groaned, and even Shadow was starting to show signs of fatigue.  
         "... Can we go back?"  
         Kei looked back at Shadow.  
         "... And go all the way back down?"  
         "Good point..."  
         What seemed like another hour later, they stopped for a minute.  He glanced around, and leaned over the railing, squinting.  
         "... I don't even see the walls.  Something weird is going on here."  
         "Maybe... it's a test?"  
         "For what?  See how strong our legs are?"  
         Shadow snorted.  
         ... Yet another hour later, there was a break in the staircase.  
         "... Well... at least it shows that we're not just going around in pointless circles."  
         He stood on the edge.  A chunk of the stairs broke free, fell, and bounced off of the railway below.  Kei leaned over and watched as it disappeared into the darkness.  He waited quietly.  Shadow peeked his head over the railing and watched.  They both listened tentatively.  Minutes passed.  No sound.  
         "... Long way down."  
         "Go up?"  
         "Yep."  
         He leaned forward and took a leap, flailing a bit as he made the jump.  He then threw his weight forward and thudded against the stairs, nearly losing his balance and falling backwards.  Shadow stood quietly on the other side.  
         "What're ya afraid of?  Just jump."  
         Shadow shifted and looked away, then shook his head.  
         "No.  No thanks."  
         "... Wha?"  
         "I'm, uh..."  
         Shadow lightly brushed his talons over his arm.  
         "Afraid of heights?"  
         Kei smirked... then frowned.  
         "I won't let you fall."  
         "No, but you'll get rid of me as soon as we're done."  
         He felt his heart stop.  How did he know that?  
         "... N-no... no, I won't."  
         "Yeah you will.  I can hear your thoughts."  
         Kei shook for a moment.  That... scared him.  Shadow was able to see into his mind?... What about his... thoughts... of Kasumi?  
         "... Do you trust me?"  
         Shadow looked at him, one eye quirking.  
         "Leap.  I'll catch you if you miss."  
         Shadow stared at him.  That look told him he had his doubts.  
         "... Promise?"  
         "Yeah..."  
         Shadow nodded and leaned forward, arms going back.  He heaved himself, and jumped.  Waaay too short.  Kei quickly dove forward and leaned over the edge and snagged his wrists with his hands.  Both had terrified looks in their eyes as they stared at one-another.  Shadow kicked and squirmed.  
         "Don't drop me!"  
         "I won't.  I got you.  Help me out, here,"  Kei grunted.  "You aren't exactly feather-light."  
         He squirmed back, hooking his leg around a post in the railing.  Shadow swung to the left, then to the right, talons clenched Kei's right shoulder as he swung in that direction.  Taking advantage of the momentum, Kei snatched his left arm and pulled hard.  A concerted effort, and a few moments, and both were rolling back, up the stairs, and smacked into the railing.  
         They both sat quietly, panting.  
         "... Heh heh..."  
         "... Heehee..."  
         "Ha.  Hahaa..."  
         They both slowly started to laugh.  Nervously at first, then they broke out into sheer, dumbfounded laughter.  After a few moments, they calmed, and sighed.  
         "... What are we laughing about, again?" asked Kei.  
         He glanced down at Shadow, who returned his stare.  
         "... Beats the heck out of me."  
  
         It wasn't more than what seemed like seconds, and they reached the doors similar to those they had seen in the previous tower.  
         "... Well, that was easy."  
         Kei kicked Shadow lightly.  Shadow coughed.  
         "Erm... anyway..."  
         The doors opened as Kei approached.  He stepped in.  
  
         The Guardian's voice run out from within.  
         "... On this day... Africa has been reborn."


	4. Two More Down

         He stared at it, cross-eyed as he held it up.  
         "... And you're sure... this thing isn't poisonous?"  
         Shadow nodded his head, the plate that covered where his nose and mouth would be opened.  The mushrooms he ate disappeared into the darkness underneath.  Kei eyed him for a moment, then the mushroom he held.  His stomach groaned.  
         "... One hundred percent?  I mean... you could have like, a different stomach than mine..."  
         The mushroom disappeared out of his hand, and was quickly shoved into his mouth.  Kei fell over backwards and squirmed around as Shadow leaned back and chuckled.  Kei yanked the mushroom out of his mouth and scraped at his tongue with his gloved hands.  
         "You idiot!  I could be poisoned no-..."  
         He smacked his lips.  Not bad.  He bit the head off of the orange-speckled red mushroom and chewed.  Not bad at all, actually.  He had seen these mushrooms around some of the trees earlier, but never really thought they were edible.  Food and drinkable water out here was scarse.  Since he had left the second tower, the winds had been dying down, and all that they had travelled made him hungry.  They weren't very far from the third tower, as it was clearly on the horizon.  
         "See?"  Shadow said smugly, folding his arms over his chest.  
         Kei rolled his eyes, snatched another, and ate it.  Then another.  Then a few more.  He took out the D-Power and stared down at it.  
         "... Anywhere in there we could store some of these for later?"  
         Shadow peered up at him.  
         "I could make a room."  
         They stared at each other for a moment.  They both disappeared into the device.  
  


************  
  
  
  


         A hallway now connected the main room to the storage room.  They even spent some time to create a room where they could cultivate the mushrooms.  Lot of work, however, the moment they left the device seemed to be the same instant they had entered it.  
         It wasn't too long of a walk to the third tower.  It took them only a few moments of staring at the massive iron block before they realized something.  
         "... Tell me the chain's not broken."  
         "It is."  
         "That sucks."  
         Kei shrugged and glanced around.  
         "Is there any other way in?"  
         He turned and glanced back at Shadow.  
         Shadow pointed up at an open window.  
         "We can try to climb?"  
         Kei stood for a moment, and shrugged again.  
         "Let's give it a try."  
         The most difficult part was climbing off to the side of the drawbridge.  The stones were cold and slippery.  Signs that they were ancient.  Much of the stones they gripped crumbled a bit under their hands.  After much work and effort, they reached the balcony, and the opening.  They sat for a moment and stared at one-another.  
         "Well, let's get moving," said Kei.  
         "Right-o."  
         Kei took out the D-Power, pressed the button, and held it out to Shadow.  
         "DigiMental, Up!"  
         He stood up just as the armor formed over him, and the sword formed in his hand.  
         "Ahh... y'know... you're not so heavy anymore."  
         The two golden globes on the crossguard seemed to stare up at him.  
         "Just wait.  Heehee."  
         Kei instantly felt a deep worry in him.  
         _What's that supposed to mean?_ he thought.  
  
         The tower was pretty much the same as the first.  Different layout, however, and different puzzles.  The creatures that lurked were much the same, and Kei had an easy time dispatching them.  With no new tricks, he had an easy go through the first room, but had a bit of trouble finding an exit.  There were no doors.  It took the help of a freed soul to open his eyes.  
         "... The colors of the gems in the statues."  
         That's all it said before it departed, but between Kei and Shadow, it took mere moments for them to solve.  
         The room was large, had much worn red carpeting, however, there were six statues.  Each were paired on the balcony against the back wall.  On the left side, the left had a green gem mounted in it's forehead, while the right had a red gem.  Against the far back wall in the center, both had red.  On the right, the left statue had a red gem while the right had a green.  
         "Gee... isn't this obvious?"  
         Kei placed Shadow down on the ground next to the statue.  He stood between the two, and leaned forward, pressing all his weight against the statue.  He nearly fell over as it easily slid forward, reaching the edge of the corner that lead towards the center.  The wall swung open outward, slamming against the red statue and nearly took off Kei's feet.  It also swung inches away from sending Shadow out the window.  
         "CAREFUL!"  
         "EEK!"  
         Kei rolled forward, ending up upside-down against the statue.  
         "What the heck?!  Jeeze!  Sensitive, isn't it?!"  
         "You're telling me?" asked Shadow, rather exasperated.  
         He picked up Shadow and proceeded up the stairs.  
  
         The next floor was much like the previous.  Only real change was that now there was a visible door... and two switches.  One on either side of the room on a balcony overlooking the rest of the room.  Kei walked over, killed the unsuspecting creature standing near it, and pressed the switch.  
         "Kinda obvious we need to press the second one, Kei."  
         Stones grinded.  A staircase rose from the floor below the balcony, connecting the balcony to the ground floor.  
         "No problem."  
         After he pushed the statue (and made VERY sure he was CLEAR out of the way for it to swing), he made his way upstairs and pushed the second switch.  Kei leaned over the balcony.  The iron gates to the next floor creaked open.  
         "We're in!"  
         He bolted down the staircase that had formed for them after they pressed that switch, and up the stairs.  
         The next floor was rather open, with many large support columns fixated in a formation in the center of the room.  Different creatures lurked here.  They wore large robes, and pointed magician hats.  Gloves hung, filled with air, where one would expect their hands to be.  Inbetween?  Air.  Only two eyes gave signs of life in the mass of clothes that they were.  They gave him a bit of trouble, but they had very little endurance, as they were easily dispatched with a mere slash.  The trouble was they would throw cresents at him.  Made of, of all things, light.  And one of them gave him a rude awakening.  A small gash on his cheek.  
         "... Jeeze."  
         He fingered the wound.  
         "Who would have thought light could be so sharp?" Kei muttered to himself.  
         "Well, it's using it as a weapon for a reason," replied Shadow.  
         "... Point well noted."  
         The room was rather bland, and the exit easy to spot.  Kei quickly made his way to the top floor.  
         It was obvious that it was the top floor.  The "Doorway to Nowhere" was there in the middle as usual.  Only one problem posed Kei and Shadow this time.  The doors and the Guardian were on an island surrounded by a pit, the entire floor built around it.  A thin stone platform poked it's way out of a hole in the floor on the south side of Kei's part of the floor.  In the back of the floor was a switch... also surrounded by a pit.  Both were equally much too far for Kei and Shadow to jump.  
         "... If I throw you... will you come back?"  
         "Uh, no... hold on, I can handle this one."  
         The armor and sword became bright and became a light.  The light ripped off of him and formed into that short, familiar figure.  Shadow stepped out of the light as it faded.  
         "What're you going to do?"  
         "Watch!"  
         Shadow held out both hands.  
         "_Black Lightning!_"  
         A black, crackling energy shot from Shadow's hands and smacked the switch, knocking the plate down into the altar.  The sound of grinding stones filled the room.  Kei and Shadow shifted a bit as the room shook, and the platform noisily stretched across the pit to the island.  
         Kei looked over at the Guardian, then down at Shadow.  
         "... I thought you said you couldn't fight on your own?"  
         "I never said that."  
         Kei stared for a minute.  He hadn't said that.  
         "But then..."   
         "You'll see."  
         Kei groaned.  
         "Let's go!"  
         Still a little peeved, Kei walked across the bridge, reaching the Guardian.  Shadow walked next to him as they crossed.  The Guardian spoke as Kei and Shadow came close.  
         "You're doing well.  Better than I had expected.  But note, it only gets harder from here."  
         "Oh, well.  I've got something I need to do, and you know it.  So there's no turning back."  
         "Very well, then.  The doors are yours."  
         With that said, the Guardian faded out of sight.  
         "... Sheesh.  Creepy guy.  How do you suppose he does that?"  
         Shadow shrugged.  
         "Don't ask stupid questions.  Let's go."  
         Kei nodded and stepped through the doors, once again entering that chamber.  
         More souls returned, "Europe" reborn.  
  
  
  


********************  
  
  
  


         Tower four.  It hadn't been that long of a walk.  Not nearly as far as from his town to the first tower.  They seemed to form a circular formation, and were easily noticable.  Luckily, the gates were in working order, and the two entered.  
         The Guardian's voice rang in as soon as they entered.  The stone gate slammed shut behind them.  
         "Welcome to my gauntlet... where you will fight to proceed!"  
         Both looked at each other.  
         "Greeeeaaaattt..." they both said.  
  
         The first floor was rather easy.  Just a few of the ugly molemen.  Didn't take Kei much effort to kill them.  Once they were all defeated, the iron gates in the back opened.  Kei spent a moment to catch his breath, stretch out, and continue to the next floor.  
         The second floor wasn't that hard, either.  More of the eyeball creatures with the fire surrounding them.  A few stabs and several scorch marks later, the door to the third floor opened.  
         More fighting greeted him as he entered.  The red mole creatures.  These gave him a little trouble.  His usual tactics of 'swing until they stop moving' didn't work.  These red ones smacked his swings to the side, and he narrowly escaped a few swings that would have otherwise been fatal.  They also seemed to work in a group; one distracting while the other tried to sneak up on him.  With a bit of effort, Kei could lure the sneaking one and, when it made it's move, lured it to hit the distracter.  Pretty simple.  Kei noted that, while tactical, they were still pretty brain dead.  He had a few new scratches from this fight, but nonetheless, the fourth floor was next.  
         Still more fighting.  This was getting tiresome, even for Shadow.  The floating robes this time.  Predictable.  Kei wondered what would be on the next floor, but his thoughts were cut short.  They kept a formation around him, and launched their attacks one-by-one.  After about the fifth lean to dodge, Shadow gave Kei a small pointer.  
         "I'm reflective.  Mirrors reflect light."  
         Kei nodded, and held up the blade.  With a quick duck, the crescent slammed against the blade... and flew directly back it it's caster.   The crescent easily split the robes in half, and a puff of dust was spat out of the collar.  The rest were dispatched in much the same way.  
         Fifth floor.  The door was here, however, there was a new creature here.  Kei wouldn't really call it tall... but it was about 9" tall.  And a solid piece of armor carrying a lance.  There was no room for a face; the helmet was one solid plate.  Kei approached cautiously, and quickly jumped out of the way as the armor thrusted the lance.  
         "Slow... but powerful."  
         Kei jumped up and took a swing on it as it retracted it's lance.  A loud TWANG and a vibration that made his teeth chatter were his reward.  
         "And heavily armored," noted Shadow.  
         Kei quickly jumped back, dodging another swing of it's lance.  
         "... Can't hurt it..."  
         "Well... there is one way..."  
         Kei glanced down at the blade.  
         "Brace yourself."  
         The blade began to glow.  
         "I finally got enough energy to do this..."  
         The blade lengthened about an inch.  Two thin metal guards slid up out of the hilt, covering over two inches of the blade.  The armor began to glow as well, and the blade let off a light over Kei's hand.  The light spread down over his wrist, and leap to his other hand, covering that hand and wrist.  Two thin rays spread from the armor and spread from his shoulders approximately three inches.  The light then faded, becoming more black armor.  Black gauntlets connected to black wristguards adorned his hands now.  The blade looked much sharper... but was however, much heavier.  Kei grunted and lifted the blade.  
         "Now get him!"  
         Kei nodded and took an aggresive stance.  He ran forward, letting out a cry as he spun to the side, dodging it's lance, and stabbed the blade forward, bringing it into the suit of armor, the blade plunged deep into it's thick body.  He then gripped it with his other hand and leaned with all his weight, the blade slowly dragging to the side and shredding open the suit to the side.  
         The suit of armor's arms fell limp at it's sides.  It leaned over onto the wound, and promptly exploded into the many pieces of empty armor, clanking loudly into a pile on the floor.  Particles of black light gently seeped from the open secions, and was quickly sucked into the blade.  
         "Ahh... much better."  
         "... So that junk that came out of the body..."  
         "Is energy that I use to get stronger."  
         "... Seems simple enough."  
         "It really is!"  
         Kei ahemed, and quietly turned, walking to the doors, stepping over the armor.  It opened, as if it had known that the armor had been defeated.  The Guardian's voice came from within.  
         "Excellent work... you have proven yourself worthy.  Enter."  
         Kei glanced down at Shadow as they walked in.  
         "Is he always this... authoritative?"  
         "Probably."  
         With that, they disappeared into the chamber once again, and another continent was revived.  
         "Australia"


End file.
